St Elisabeth Cathedral

The St. Elisabeth Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral in Košice. It is Slovakia's biggest church, as well as one of the easternmost Gothic cathedrals in Europe.The record of the existence of Košice, dating from 1230, is connected with the existence of the rectory church. In the process of the settlement's transformation from a rural community into a town, all its periods of successes and failures have been reflected in St. Elisabeth's Cathedral. According to historical and archaeological sources the present-day cathedral was built on the place of the older temple which was consecrated to St. Elisabeth as well. It was referred to in the document of Pope Martin V in the year 1283 and in the letter of 1290, which stated that the bishop of Eger Andrew II exempted Košice parish from the dean's sphere of jurisdiction.DescriptionSt Elisabeth Duryn's Cathedral is the biggest temple in Slovakia with a total area of and capacity of more than 5000 people, and is the main church of Košice Archdiocese and St Elisabeth parish church in Košice. It is one of the most eastern Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The church is long and wide; the height of the north tower is. The central nave is 24 m long and aisles are 12 m long. Construction of the church influenced builders' activity in surrounding towns such as Prešov, Bardejov, Sabinov, Rožňava and it also influenced construction of other churches in Poland and Transylvania.The Gothic Cathedral of Košice consists of the choir with a five-side chavet, five naves, two towers, a level sacristy at the north side, and two chapels and antechapel at the south side. There is a unique inside layout of the church, where the central nave and four aisles are crossed in the middle by one transept of the same height and width as the central nave which altogether create a Greek cross. This big central space rises in the centre of the church and together with three equal exterior gables with richly decorated portals belong to the acme of medieval stone work of art in the Middle Europe. The complex of the cathedral and adjacent buildings – St Michael Chapel and Urban Tower were declared as Cultural Heritage Monuments in 1970.